49 AGAINST 1

49 Parties Invited to Mideast Peace Talks Tuesday in Annapolis - Glenn Kessler
The State Department formally announced Tuesday that the U.S. has invited representatives of 49 countries and institutions - including Saudi Arabia and Syria - to sit down with Israelis and Palestinians in Annapolis on Tuesday in a conference designed to kick-start substantive peace talks in the region. The conference at the U.S. Naval Academy will be "a signal opportunity" to launch bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, Assistant Secretary C. David Welch said, after "a long period in which there have been no such negotiations."

The central goal is to persuade Saudi Arabia to send its foreign minister to Annapolis, the first time such a senior Saudi official would have joined in a gathering with Israelis. Bush weighed in with his own call to Saudi King Abdullah Tuesday. As a way to entice Saudi participation, diplomatic sources said, the formal invitation also drew on language from the 2003 Roadmap plan for peace that mentions an Arab League initiative promoted by Abdullah. That plan offers diplomatic relations with Israel if it withdraws to the 1967 borders and provides a "just solution" to the demands of Palestinian refugees. (Washington Post)

Level of Representation at Annapolis Offers Leverage to Arab Leaders - Zvi Bar'el
In addition to the question of which Arab states will attend the Annapolis meeting, everyone is waiting to hear about the level of the delegations the Arab states will send. Abbas will find it difficult to present a conciliatory stance if around the table he sees Arab ambassadors and not foreign ministers. This will not only be an insult - it will ensure that he does not diverge one iota from the historical principles of the Palestinian struggle and insist on discussing the conflict's core issues.

The U.S. and Israel are holding two sets of negotiations: one with Abbas, the guest of honor, and the other with the Arab leaders, in an effort to convince them to show up. As such, the Arab leaders are given the legitimacy to present their own preconditions for actually holding a meeting. (Ha'aretz)